Bowling alley accessory



May 12, 1942.

R. D; WESLEY BOWLING ALLEY ACCESSORY Filed July 23, 1940 IN VEN TOR.

.R.J. Harley ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 12, 1942 UNITED STATES AT OFFIQE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to an accessory for use in connection with bowling alleys and while it is designed primarily as an aid in the instruction of bowlers, it can also be employed for the purpose of rendering more difficult the shots required of the player.

It is a fact generally accepted among bowlers that, when delivering the ball, the player should not look at the pins but should fix his gaze at a predetermined spot in front of the foul line.

An object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement of mirrors which serves to conceal the pins from the bowler while in the act of delivering the ball but which nevertheless enables the player to see the reflection of the pins and of the action of the ball.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which can be set up readily on an alley and easily removed therefrom.

A still further object is to provide mirrors which can be used either to magnify or to reduce the image and which can also be used to distort the image, thereby increasing the difficulties encountered in hitting the pins.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and. pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawing the preferred forms of the invention have been shown.

In said drawing Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through portions of an alley having pins and a ball thereon, the present improvement being mounted thereon and shown in side elevation.

Figure 2 is an enlarged front elevation of the attachment, a portion of the alley being shown in section.

Figure 3 is a perspective View of one side portion of the attachment.

Figure 4 is a vertical section through the attachment having distortinglnirrors.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, I designates standards mounted on bases 2 and connected at their upper ends and adjacent to the bases 2 by cross-members 3 and 4 respectively. The member 4 is adapted to be elevated above the bottom of the bases a distance sulficient to allow a ball B to roll thereunder.

Extending in one direction from the standards near their upper ends are arms 5 preferably slotted as shown at 6 and these arms are located directly opposite to each other so as to receive gudgeons I extending from the centers of opposite sides of a frame 8 holding a mirror 9. The gudgeons are screw-threaded and engaged by binding nuts I0 whereby it is possible to adjust the mirror angularly about the axes of the gudgeons and to then fasten it against further movement by tightening the nuts.

Another pair of arms II is extended in'the opposite direction from the standards and at a lower level, these arms also being preferably slotted as at I2 to receive gudgeons l3 extending from the centers of the sides of a frame I4 carrying a mirror IS. The gudgeons are screw-threaded and, by means of binding nuts I6 the mirror I5 can be held against movement after being adjusted angularly to any desired position.

The device constituting this invention is of such size as to completely bridge the alley A used for bowling and it is designed to locate itat a point about one-third the distance from the foul line to the pins P which have been set up on the alley. The mirrors 9 and I5 are then adjusted so that the reflection of the pins can is such that the player, when standing back of the foul line, cannot see the pins either through the gap between the mirrors or the gap between the alley and the lower mirror. He can only see the reflection of the pins in one of the mirrors. However, as before explained, there is sufficient distance below the cross-member 4 to permit the ball B to be rolled along the alley to the pins.

It has been found that by using a device such as herein described, a player can be quickly taught how to start the'ball on the alley without looking directly at the pins. Should it be desired to render the game more difficult, image distorting mirrors such as shown at I8 and I9 in Figure 1 could be substituted for the plain mirrors 9 and I5. mirrors or mirrors for magnifying or for reducing the image. 4

What is claimed is:

1. A training device for bowlers including a These can either be curved portable frame proportioned to extend across and above an alley, superposed mirrors carried by the frame and cooperating to conceal from a player at one end of an alley the pins located at the other end of the alley, said mirrors cooperating to expose on either mirror to the player while in ball delivering position an image of the pins, there being a clearance beneath the mirrors for the free passage of a ball along the alley, said mirrors being mounted for angular and sliding adjustment relative to the frame and to each other, and means for holding the mirrors against movement following adjustment.

2. A device of the class described including an upstanding frame, a pair of parallel upper arms extending in one direction from the sides of the frame, a pair of parallel arms extending opposaid frame being mounted for tilting and sliding movement by the arms of each pair. I

3. A device of the class described including an upstanding frame, a pair of parallel upper arms extending in one direction from the sides of the frame, a pair of parallel arms extending oppositely to the arms of the first pair but at a lower level, there being longitudinal slots in all of the arms, a frame adapted to carry a mirror between the arms of each pair, gudgeons extending from the sides of the frames for sliding and pivotal movement in the respective slots, and means cooperating With the arms and gudgeons for holding the frames against movement.

ROLLAND D. WESLEY. 

